Essentially completed months ahead of schedule, the centerpiece of Port Washington High School’s $45.6 million makeover will be unveiled during an open house and holiday band concert Thursday, Dec. 13.

Expressing support for a county employee, Ozaukee County supervisors on Wednesday decided not to deny a claim filed by Clerk of Courts Mary Lou Mueller seeking reimbursement for $33,224 that she paid lawyers to represent her during an administrative investigation of the court system earlier this year.

Instead, the County Board voted 17-9 to refer Mueller’s claim to the Public Safety Committee.

Based on the advice of the county’s insurance company, Corporation Counsel Rhonda Gorden recommended the board deny the claim.

A truckload of dirt has been dropped off at St. John XXIII School in Port Washington, where hard hats will be the accessory of the day for an 11:30 a.m. groundbreaking ceremony Sunday, Dec. 9, that will mark the beginning of a construction project intended to consolidate the school’s two campuses next year.

The project, which has been in the works for several years, includes construction of a 19,700-square-foot addition to the east side of the school and a 5,000 square-foot renovation of the existing school.

The City of Port Washington should install a metal walkway over the eastern 1,000 feet of the breakwater to provide a stable and sustainable surface for people to walk out to the lighthouse, the Common Council was told Tuesday.

It’s really the only option the city has to complete repairs to the structure, officials with Foth Infrastructure and Environment told aldermen.

“We’ve run out of options to find money and go the distance to the lighthouse,” Brian Hinrichs, lead environmental scientist for Foth, said.

Apparently unwilling to concede the findings of an investigation that debunked his allegations of criminal wrongdoing in the Ozaukee County court system, Judge Joseph Voiland filed a lawsuit last week against the chief district judge who oversaw the probe.

Years ago, the Ozaukee County Jail used to rake in millions of dollars from boarding federal and state inmates. But that ended in 2013, and even though the county is back boarding some state inmates, the revenue doesn’t approach what it did before.

And that’s not likely to change because the beds once used by those inmates are now occupied by those arrested here at home, a byproduct of increasing crime in Ozaukee County.

“I can only take 35,” Sheriff Jim Johnson said, compared to 80 or 90 just five years ago.